The New York Mets shocked the baseball world Sunday when they outbid their crosstown rivals — and several other contending teams — to land right-handed starting pitcher Marcus Stroman from the Toronto Blue Jays, intending to keep him as an important part of their starting rotation this year and next. In return, the Mets sent their top left-handed pitching prospect, Anthony Kay, their first-round pick in the 2016 draft, and right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson. It amounts to a solid but not special return for the rebuilding Blue Jays.

Stroman, 28, is 6-11 this year with a 2.96 ERA and 1.227 WHIP in 124 2/3 innings. His strikeouts-per-nine-innings ratio is a respectable 7.1 to go along with 2.5 walks per nine innings. His FIP at the time of the trade was 3.52, with a WAR of 3.2. He will earn $7.4 million this year and is arbitration-eligible in 2020, his free-agent walk year. Stroman is a ground-ball pitcher, while the left side of the Mets’ infield is well below...